how responsible is tenant for unapproved paint?

Question

I had a tenant stay for 6 years. They were great, but when they moved out, I noticed that they had tried to fix blemishes on the walls by painting it themselves. It was well-intentioned, but this does not work (see picture). How responsible are they for paying to repaint this stuff? They pointed me to this website and HUD documentation that says paint only lasts 5 years. Since they stayed for more than that, the prior website claims I can get 0 back. The tenants feel that I can't really ask them to re-paint everything, though they are agreeing to pay some. Do I have any ground to stand on?

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

@Benson Limketkai After 6 years I would be thankful if all I had to do was some paint. I would expect nothing from the tenant unless there was damage. Your tenant is being too reasonable.

Andrew B. · Answer

After six years I would have budgeted for a repaint anyway. If there were light scratches and marks, consistent with wear and tear, would you be charging them for paint after 6 years? No.

Filipe Pereira · Answer

@Benson L. you answered your own question with "I had a tenant stay for 6 years. They were great".

I vote ask them to cover some portion of it, but don't be a harda$$ on it. Imagine how much you would have had to spend in paint if you had six one year tenants. Find peace in that and move on.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Your tenant is responsible.  Do you have paint leftover?  The photo shows a door-clean it and give it a fresh coat of paint.  I'd charge them a small amount, but not to repaint the whole place.  It is easy to paint one wall.  If you don't have more of the same paint, find something close or an accent colour.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Your tenant is responsible. They can point to HUD guidelines all they want but they are just that: guidelines. Just because HUD life expectancy for paint is only five years doesn't meant the tenant gets to paint the walls in any color they want without consequences.

On the other hand, they lived there for six years. I can't tell from this one picture, but I would probably just paint the walls that are affected and move on.

how responsible is tenant for unapproved paint?

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